Branson 4020R Lost Power Under load Wont move fast at all?? Help!

[Asparky]

Louny
Thanks for the reply
I'm not sure how full it is nor do I know how much fluid I lost with the backhoe. I dug for 2 or 3 hours and didn't move the tractor much. when I got ready to backfill I noticed I didn't have much power to push the dirt back into the hole. I gave up on it as it was dark. The next morning I tried to backfill again with no luck. I noticed then I had to rev up to move the tractor in 1st gear. The Oh Oh moment! So yes the tractor moves slowly in first gear. Hard to get it moving in 2nd or third. I put 2 gals of hyd fluid in it as a guess. after I saw I had a hole in the top boom fittings hyd hose. still a hole there but I'm not using the boom and its not leaking. The boom is up and locked in place with the safety pin. At that point I tried moving the tractor again and was having the same sluggish moving issue in 1st gear. Sluggish and not very fast at all. So I pulled the hyd. fuel filter out today and it was very very dark dirty orange in color. I cant get one for 5 day so I cleaned it the best I could and put it back together. Went out tonight to try and start it to see if cleaning the filter helped and the key was left on and the battery was dead so its on the charger now. Tomorrow morning I will try all again and see if maybe cleaning the filter helped. I'm guessing it wont but hope to be wrong. will report after I try it in the morning.
I appreciate the help!!
Thanks
Ron

 

[K5lwq]

Louny
Thanks for the reply
I'm not sure how full it is nor do I know how much fluid I lost with the backhoe. I dug for 2 or 3 hours and didn't move the tractor much. when I got ready to backfill I noticed I didn't have much power to push the dirt back into the hole. I gave up on it as it was dark. The next morning I tried to backfill again with no luck. I noticed then I had to rev up to move the tractor in 1st gear. The Oh Oh moment! So yes the tractor moves slowly in first gear. Hard to get it moving in 2nd or third. I put 2 gals of hyd fluid in it as a guess. after I saw I had a hole in the top boom fittings hyd hose. still a hole there but I'm not using the boom and its not leaking. The boom is up and locked in place with the safety pin. At that point I tried moving the tractor again and was having the same sluggish moving issue in 1st gear. Sluggish and not very fast at all. So I pulled the hyd. fuel filter out today and it was very very dark dirty orange in color. I cant get one for 5 day so I cleaned it the best I could and put it back together. Went out tonight to try and start it to see if cleaning the filter helped and the key was left on and the battery was dead so its on the charger now. Tomorrow morning I will try all again and see if maybe cleaning the filter helped. I'm guessing it wont but hope to be wrong. will report after I try it in the morning.
I appreciate the help!!
Thanks
Ron

I am still confused a bit but still would like to help.

In your original post, you indicated that the tractor ran good at idle. You also said you were checking air filter because of no power.

If you put the tractor in neutral, will the engine run good at 2000 RPM or does it only run good at idle?

 

[Cougsfan]

This may or may not be of help. On my 4720 after I had a leaky hose and I thought I might be low on tractor fluid so I added a couple of gallons. As others mentioned, if it is over-full it actually looks a lot like there is nothing on the sight glass so you really have no idea if it is over-full or under-full. When mine had too much fluid in it, the three point wouldn't work at all, it was stuck in the up position. I didn't try other hydraulic attachments, or even drive the tractor, so I don't know how everything else reacted to being over-full. To get mine to work again, I disconnected a hydraulic hose to my hydraulic top link and used the tractor's pump to pump fluid back into the 5 gallon pail that my fluid came in. When it came down the middle of the sight glass, everything worked fine again.

In your case I'd go through whatever measure it takes to insure you are not over or under-filled. I wouldn't sweat the exact brand of premium tractor fluid you use. It is not that big of issue. Just don't use hydraulic fluid.

 

[Asparky]

I am still confused a bit but still would like to help.

In your original post, you indicated that the tractor ran good at idle. You also said you were checking air filter because of no power.

If you put the tractor in neutral, will the engine run good at 2000 RPM or does it only run good at idle?

Runs good at all rpm in neutral..
Just wont go very good. Doesn't have power enough to push dirt hardly at all. When I move the tractor under no real load it's real sluggish like no power.. slow speed
Going out this am and see if cleaning the fuel filter helped. Had a dead battery from leaving key on overnight.. It Will take 5 days to get a new filter.
Thanks
Ron

 

[Asparky]

cougsfan
so I guess I could pump out some fluid thru the broken hose to the top of my hydraulic cylinder on my boom on my backhoe. would that work? I haven't fixed it yet.
Thanks
Ron

 

[Asparky]

Runs good at all rpm in neutral..
Just wont go very good. Doesn't have power enough to push dirt hardly at all. When I move the tractor under no real load it's real sluggish like no power.. slow speed
Going out this am and see if cleaning the fuel filter helped. Had a dead battery from leaving key on overnight.. It Will take 5 days to get a new filter.
Thanks
Ron
Sorry I might have double posted this

 

[ericm979]

When you try to move the tractor under load (like pushing dirt) with the throttle set to 2000 or 2500 rpms, do the rpms stay high and the tractor is sluggish, or do the rpms drop?

If it's the former it's a slipping clutch; the latter would likely be a fuel problem.

I don't think cleaning the fuel filter will help much if it's clogged. You should see something in the filter if it's clogged.

You can take the inlet hose off the filter and run it into a container. When you turn the key fuel should flow. There should be a spec for how much fuel in the shop manual. There is a thread here that has links to manuals you can download. Sometimes the lift pump from the tank to the filter to the injection pump is defective. Sometimes there's something blocking the flow.

 

[Cougsfan]

cougsfan
so I guess I could pump out some fluid thru the broken hose to the top of my hydraulic cylinder on my boom on my backhoe. would that work? I haven't fixed it yet.
Thanks
Ron

You could pump it out that way if you were sure it is over-full. However if it is under-full you may run the pump dry which could be problematic. In your case, to be safe I'd take the drain plug out and let some out. That will probably be a messy chore. Try to drain out about what you have put in. I tried figuring out a way to get a suction pump down to the fluid through the fill hole, but was unable to do that. You may try jacking up the rear of the tractor to see if the top of the fluid shows up on the sight glass.

 

[Cougsfan]

As I re-read this whole thread, I'm a bit confused if you have ever added fluid. If not, I would have to assume it is low and would add fluid. Make sure the tractor is setting level so you can watch the sight glass. That yellow rubber plug on the back of the transmission case unthreads and that is where you add fluid. Make sure you get premium universal tractor fluid, any brand will do. Do not get hydraulic fluid. Costco, Tractor Supply, Napa and most any farm oriented store sells it. People have talked about adding a coloring agent to the oil. That sounds like a good idea but I have never seen it for sale.

 

[Asparky]

ericm979 and Cougsfan When I try to move the tractor under load (like pushing dirt) with the throttle set to 2000 or 2500 rpms, do the rpms stay high and the tractor is sluggish, or do the rpms drop?
A: Yes RPM doesn't change and tractor won't even push much or none. It is slow moving under no load but still hard to get moving and any load keeps it from moving pretty much. After a few minutes of trying to even get it to move it will not move sometimes and if it does no speed at all pretty much. So your post suggested the clutch. The hydraulics seem to work same as usual. (BH FEL seem OK) I do still have a hole in the BH hose to the top of the Bottom Boom cylinder but outriggers and bucket work fine. So while on this subject is a clutch replacement a major job on this tractor? cost or hours to fix? Would an overfill of tractor oil cause the clutch to slip. But hydraulics work great? I seem to get confused on the difference of premium universal tractor fluid and hydraulic oil. I put in fluid that was J20C spec.
I need to use the backhoe for 5 or 10 minutes and cant get the hose replaced for a few days. Any emergency tricks to patch the hose very temporarily. It will be several days or more till I can get a new one built I don't care if it leaks a little as its overfilled I think. But I don't want to be unsafe either. the hose damage isn't anywhere it would get me with fluid.
Thoughts please...
Ron